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Kalima to Translate Eight Indian Books into Arabic

ABU DHABI — Kalima, the publishing arm of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), is bringing out eight Indian books in Arabic.

The books have been translated by the India Arab Cultural Centre of the Jamia Millia Islamia University headquartered in New Delhi, and will be on display at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

The Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmed, said this was the first major initiative to translate Indian books into Arabic in the last couple
of decades.

Another seven Indian books will also be translated into Arabic soon.

“We will also be publishing five Arabic books in Hindi and Urdu,’’ said Zikrur Rahman, Director of the India Arab Culture Centre.

The eight Indian books that have been translated into Arabic are Wings of Fire authored by the former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam, The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani, Being Indian by Pavan K Varma, In An Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh, Moderate or Militant—Images of India’s Muslims by Mushirul Hasan, NEHRU The Invention of India by Shashi Tharoor, The Shades of Swords: Jihad and Conflict between Islam and Christianity by MJ Akbar and Short Stories from India edited by Zikrur Rahman.

The authorities have arranged a dialogue between experts and the authors MJ Akbar, Amitav Ghosh and Shashi Tharoor during the book fair.

The Ambassador said the translation of the Indian books launched by the Indian Embassy is to sensitise the young, educated generation in the Arab world about contemporary intellectual interventions in India.

The Embassy is also arranging a festival of Indian films, exhibition of paintings by Indians and literary dialogues as part of the initiative.

Zikrur Rahman said ADACH had donated 500 Arabic books to the India Arab Culture Centre. The books deal with contemporary issues related to culture, art, politics and various other aspects of the Arab region, and form the core collection of the Centre.

“They will usher in a qualitative change in the academic pursuits in Arabic in India which was earlier confined largely to religious studies.”

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